André Braugher

Andre Braugher spent five critically acclaimed years playing zealous justice-seeker Detective Frank Pembleton on NBC's "Homicide" (NBC, 1993-99), where his character was the galvanizing, if hard-to-li...
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Stared in the short "Louisville," which aired as part of the "Showtime Black Filmmaker Showcase"

Starred in director Wolfgang Petersen's remake of "The Poseidon Adventure"

Co-starred in Stephen King's "The Mist"

Played supporting role of a heavenly being in "City of Angels"

Raised in Chicago's West Side

Cast as Sgt. Carlos Diaz in the Showtime original movie "A Soldier's Girl," the true story of a young soldier beaten to death for falling in love with a transgendered nightclub performer

Landed recurring guest role on "House M.D." (Fox)

Featured in the independent "Thick as Thieves," which premiered on HBO

Played a gay lawyer who becomes mixed up in a handgun-related incident in "It's the Rage/All the Rage"; premiered at Toronto Film Festival before airing on Cinemax and receiving a U.S. theatrical release in 2000

Guest starred on NBC crime drama "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

Acted in the New York Shakespeare Festival (NYSF) productions of "Twelfth Night" and "Coriolanus"

Cast in the superhero sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer"

Starred as a physician on the ABC medical drama "Gideon's Crossing," created by Paul Attanasio; received Emmy nomination

Returned to the NYSF to play "Henry V"

Summary

Andre Braugher spent five critically acclaimed years playing zealous justice-seeker Detective Frank Pembleton on NBC's "Homicide" (NBC, 1993-99), where his character was the galvanizing, if hard-to-like, center of the ensemble drama. Naturally, the Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor was sought out to star in other television offerings, including the short-lived medical drama "Gideon's Crossing" (CBS, 2000-01), the buddy dramedy "Men of a Certain Age" (TNT, 2009- ) and the Emmy-winning miniseries, "Thief" (FX, 2005), in which he broke with his upstanding image to star as a morally conflicted high-stakes thief. The character-driven actor's flair for decisive confidence led to memorable film roles as men-in-charge in "10,000 Black Men Named George" (Showtime, 2002), "Poseidon" (2006) and "The Andromeda Strain" (A&amp;E, 2008). For his commitment to three-dimensional characters and his high-caliber work in primetime and beyond, Braugher helped pave the way for African-American actors to be accepted in a much wider range of roles than ever before.

Married Dec. 28, 1991; Played husband and wife on "Homicide: Life on the Street"

Floyd Braugher

Father

Sally Braugher

Mother

Isaiah Braugher

Son

Born 1996; mother, Ami Brabson

Michael Braugher

Son

Born 1992; mother, Ami Brabson

John Braugher

Son

Born 2003; mother, Ami Brabson

Education

Name

St Ignatius Prepatory School

The Juilliard School

Stanford University

Notes

"There are three kinds of actors. One is an actor you hire and he gives you nothing. Another gives you exactly what you've written. And the third takes what you give him and just completely soars with it. That's Andre. Andre is one of those actors who makes me think I'm a better writer than I really am." – "Homicide" creator Tom Fontana on Braugher, quoted in the The New York Times, Feb. 2, 1994

"The kind of roles I like to take are three-dimensional characters. Usually when people call you in, it's 'the black character.' It's Paul or Tom, or Dick, the handsome black man. Meanwhile, all these other characters, who don't have meticulous or specific descriptions, I want to play those people because they have more to do, or they're more interesting, or they're more interesting to me. I'd like to play those characters, but I'm not called in for those characters." – Braugher to The New York Times, Feb. 2, 1994

"The danger for me is I'll forget who I am and where I came from. I might begin to believe my own hype.

"I don't have a manager. I don't have a publicist. I don't want to go on 'The Tonight Show' and be all palsy-walsy with the host. I think I want to be rich but I don't want to be famous." – Braugher on becoming a household name, quoted in Entertainment Weekly, Oct. 28, 1994

"I'm not interested in playing characters who are worried about being liked. We don't go through life being liked." – Braugher quoted in The Los Angeles Times, July 14, 1996

"I'm black in America. On a daily basis, I'm reminded that I'm unwanted. It's just a fact of life. I was born without civil rights and I grew up angry. I'm not protected by my family or wealth or intelligence from the daily assaults that are inflicted on the dignity of black Americans everywhere in this country." – Braugher in The Los Angeles Times, July 14, 1996

"He is so tough and smart and sure of himself that he intimidates everyone around him, including me." – producer Tom Fontana to People, Sept. 2, 1996

On his lack of comedic roles: "I don't think I'm really cut out for that! I try to choose projects that emphasize the human spirit. So I have not done a 'Booty Call'! But if I were handed a superb 'Booty Call' that explores the human spirit, maybe." – Braugher quoted in The San Francisco Examiner, April 7, 1998

"If my ambition to become a 'movie star' became so great that I'd be willing to neglect my marriage and my role as a father, I would suffer the consequences. This is a business in which the divorce rate is very high, and very few people are on their first marriage." – Braugher on putting his family before his work, quoted in Daily News, April 9, 1998

"TV and film are gigantic enterprises. There is no instant feedback. But in theater, if you're boring, the audience will fall asleep right in front of you. Every night, you have to create magic. It has its own type of danger, without actually having to go to war." – Braugher quoted in Daily News, May 3, 2000